Page 13 of Just My Fake Husband

When I don’t say anything, my dad continues. “This is still mostly under wraps. For the company’s sake, I’ve told him very little.”

“I appreciate it.” I massage between my eyebrows. “I am going to make this right, Dad. I promise.”

It’s like he doesn’t even hear me. “Sebastian said you met with his PR rep to try to get help with your public image, and I thought I’d better give you a call.”

“It was his director of PR, but yeah.”

River insisted that I know that. She insisted on a lot of things. Despite the stress of being on this call, I can’t help smiling at the memory of talking with her yesterday.

When Dad only sighs audibly, I speak up again. “I would have thought you’d appreciate me working on fixing this.”

“Fixing this? Unless you can figure out how to go back in time and not torch the money you’d saved for a charity and the integrity of my company, there is no making this right.”

“I’ve already started to recoup the funds I lost with my consulting jobs, and I—”

“That’s not the issue here. It’s deeper than that. The board asked for your termination, as you know.”

“I know.” I scrape the chair back across the patio floor and stand, nervous energy causing my arms and legs to feel jittery.

“So what makes you think a few press releases and a walk about through Europe . . .” He snorts. “. . . is going to change their minds? They consider you a huge liability, Gabriel, and so do I. The man who was a year or two away from leading the company has revealed himself as a philandering player.”

I hold back a bitter laugh at my dad’s choice of words. I’ve never even remotely done anything that could be considered philandering or that would make me a player.

I begin to pace along the edge of the cement path to the trees that swallow up the house and backyard. “So all my years of work, ofnotdrinking or gambling or philandering are meaningless because of one night of mistakes?”

“Yes!” Dad roars. “You represented the charitable arm of our company. You represented integrity. You were the face of this company. You made Foundations Financial trustworthy in the eyes of the industry. Hundreds of organizations trust us with their money. How can they if its charitable arm is run by a scandalous cheat?”

“Now that’s too far. I’m not that—”

My dad interrupts. “No amount of PR is going to fix this, so don’t get any more ideas about taking that easy out. You’re going to have to prove, over years of work, that you’re the kind of man we all thought you were.”

It doesn’t matter that, before and after Prague, I’d never gotten so much as a speeding ticket. The mistakes I made in that one twenty-four-hour period have branded me as unworthy.

I didn’t spiral out of control on that fateful day in Prague because of a broken heart. Yes, Britney and I had recently ended things, but I wasn’t broken-hearted.

She was great. We’d been dating for a few months. She liked Major League Baseball and made a mean pumpkin chocolate chip cookie.

But she wasn’t “the one,” and I think we both knew that early on. I was sad to see her leave my life, but it wasn’t why I did the things I did.

Maybe I imbibed in a show of solidarity with Todd. Maybe I let my guard down and got caught up in the opulence of the casino. I don’t know. I will figure it out eventually. Either way, I’m never going anywhere near a casino again.

“Does Mom know about what happened in Prague?”

“Of course she does.”

My head quivers with this news, and I back into the patio chair, sinking down into it as I force myself to breathe.

Mom had tried to call a couple of times since I got my phone back from the Prague hotel, but I hadn’t gathered up the nerve tocall her back. I can’t face her. Yet after my initial lurch of terror at the thought of her knowing, an odd hollow of calm settles in my gut.

At least she knows the truth. She doesn’t like it, I’m sure. But at least she knows.

“Dad, like I said before, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to prove that I can responsibly represent the company. The board is going to see the changes I’ll make. You’ll see, too.”

“Unfortunately, that will take a long time. Once you’ve sufficiently proven you’re never going to do something so stupid and risky again, if you can ever prove it, we’ll talk. But by then, I could very well be retired. I can’t wait around for you to get your act together, son.”

Without another word, my dad hangs up, and I’m left speechless.

A woman on your arm and in your ear.

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